Silver Snow
by Black Sunflower
Summary: An Arrancar sighting three years after the original battle forces the five shinigami lead by Hitsugaya back to Karakura Town. Busied by the sudden onslaught of enemies, they find themselves employing yet another parttime shinigami, Karin.HitsuKarin l8r on
1. The Photo

YO!

Lynn has returned!!

XD Okey, so I've been gone for a really long time, and I am completely aware of the fact that I desperately need to work on the SasuSaku story I have...

But... I guess I've lost motivation for the story [I need some suggestions HINTHINT XD

Anyway! I started watching Bleach around when the school year started and now I'm completely addicted to it. So it went from watching nearly 8 episodes a day to finishing about a hundred more in the cramped time of two weeks. Then I stayed up to 5AM last night reading the manga XD

I'm almost as caught up as I possibly can be, but I'm kind of holding off so I can "savor" the newest three chapters.

Anyway, while watching Bleach, I found one of THE cutest [in my limited opinion pairings in existence. Ever since I watched the filler episode [T-T I know, it's filler, that part absolutely kills me, I have been obsessed with HitsuKarin. Hitsugaya's cool 'n' kind of hott in my eyes [ . Personally, I think he look about 13, but that's because I was a fangirl for a while. WAS. and Karin's just freakin' awesome.

So here's a story I started a few days ago. It's basically like the "intro" stage right now, and I have a lot more of the story saved to my laptop. I'd love it if anyone at all would want me to continue it, but it's basically only here for me to save stuff online. My stupid laptop has a habit of messing with my documents and shutting down in the middle of an unsaved story.

Anyway! The story[Eh heh heh... I was starting to forget about it and ramble on and on

Disclaimer-chan: I do not own Bleach, nor do I own any of the spamtacular characters, places, plot, or manga//anime in any sort of way.

I just own my random ideas I get when I should be sleeping.

-.-.-.-.-.-

**Silver Snow**

_By Lynn, co-owner of BlackSunflower_

**Chapter One: **

**_The Photo _**

Hitsugaya lightly adjusted his shinigami robes, double-checking if Hyourinmaru was held securely onto his black and white clothing. He would not admit it to anyone, but he was secretly very pleased with his sudden and recent growth spurt. He now had grown into a teenage boy that would never more be regarded as an elementary student, since he towered at a good 5'10. Despite the sudden height change, he still had maintained his usual hair and clothing style, except for the new way he carried his sword. The shoulder strap that had once held his zankupaktou across his back had been discarded onto his desk chair.

On most days, that would be the only thing that seemed a little disorganized in his room, but today was obviously not. Matsumoto was going through her sudden need for spring cleaning and insisted for him to go through every box stored in his room and closet. Grudgingly, the young captain had agreed, and now his room/office sat filled with numerous cardboard boxes covering ever inch of the floor, tables, and furniture. His bed was the only island of sanity among the sea of brown and papers sticking out in all directions. Still, he had agreed to do some cleaning, and it was a little too late to back off now.

Checking the clock hanging on the wall across him, Hitsugaya realized he had a good quarter of an hour to wait off before needing to be briefed for a new mission, so he had some time to kill. A box beside him seemed to glare at him expectantly, so he released a sigh and begin digging through it.

The box was filled with numerous stacks of papers, all concerning his last trip, from a year or two ago to the real world, all about the pseudo-hollows that they had battled. They were pretty much useless now, seeing that the monsters had been all terminated. He began sifting out the stacks and piling them into a bin for throwing away things when a photo slid out from between two stapled packets. Dropping off the garbage, Hitsugaya leaned over and picked up the picture. He and a girl were standing side-by-side in a soccer field. The lamp above his head had cerated a glare on the shiny material of the photograph, but he knew without a question that the girl standing next to him, playfully pulling on his hair was Kurosaki Karin, the sister of part-time-shinigami Kurosaki Ichigo.

Tilting the image slightly to relieve it of the glare, he could see himself looking off to the side in a sort of irritated glare while Karin grinned so widely that it was obvious that she was ttrying to hold back laughter. Matsumoto had insisted that they took pictures in the real world as "souvenirs." Apparently, she believed that Karin and Hitsugaya's victory in a soccer match was worthy of her limited photos. She had even insisted on giving copies to both and for them to write a short message on the other's picture.

Remembering this, Hitsugaya flipped his over to the back in search of Karin's note. In her tomboyish scrawl, she had written, "Arigato, 'elementary schooler.' Hope to have to play with me again, Toshiro! Karin"

Despite his usual stoic facial expression, the hard glare melted for a second and fell into a soft smile. Then, in horror, he looked to is wall clock and realized he would be late. Swearing, he tucked the photo into a pocket and dashed the down the hallway towards the meeting room.

Ten minutes and two wrong turns later, Hitsugaya arrived in a slightly sweat-drenched and heaving fashion.

"Ah, taichou, you've made it!" Matsumoto's voice came from the other side of the hall, her pale blue eyes smiling at him. To most people, they would believe it to be a just a friendly greeting, but the fukutaichou quickly nodded her head to her left as she spoke, indicating his seat. He in return gave an appreciative look back at her and seated himself.

"Now that we have all arrived, we may begin the meeting," the commander general spoke slowly in a deliberate manner, one that held much authority.

Hitsugaya realized that "we" didn't just include the leaders of the 10th squad, but there were others there as well. Abarai Renji sat across the table from him, decked in the outfit of the lieutent. Beside the crimson-haired man perched Yumichika, and of course, Ikakku would have to be there next to his group-mate. If the white-haired captain were to lean across the table, he would have seen Rukia looking intently at the commander general, awaiting orders. But there was no need for that, since her reiatsu was filling in the space beside Matsumoto.

"All of you have gathered for another mission, but to where and for what has not been clarified," mumbled agreements came fro maround the table. "Thus, I will inform you. You six are to return once more to Kakura ? Town. Reportedly, there have been sightings of Arrancar, and I believe you six to be the most able-fitted for the task of exterminating them. Not only have you faced them before, but you also know the town itself. Hitsugaya Toshiro, you will again lead the mission.

"Kurosaki Ichigo has already been informed of the situation, and his small squad consisting of Orihime, Sado, and the Quincy, Uryuu, is also in this. They will be expecting your arrival and will again provide housing for you, although we highly recommend for people to stay at houses that you previously stayed at.

"That is all. Your mission begins today and you will depart from the Soul Society within the next five hours. Good luck and farewell," the wizened old shinigami smiled widely at them and waved a good-bye.

"Sayonara," they all chorused as they left the room. As soon as they were out of the captain's earshot, Matsumoto squeaked happily.

"Heat that, taichou?! We're going back to the real world! Think of all the shopping possibilities!" her orange hair bounced around happily as she waltzed down the hallway.

"More Hollow fighting opportunities," Ikkaku and Yumichika exchanged grins.

"Well, let's see how Ichigo's doing." Renji added, and Rukia nodded in agreement.

Expectantly, they looked to Hitsugaya for their leading captain's input, but he was off in his own little world. This was an odd coincidence, finding the photo from the place he was returning to. Going back there meant he would see her again, didn't it?

Though he would never, ever, ever consider telling anyone about this, his stomach felt the strangest sensation of nervousness and an extreme case of looking forward. Without a word, he strode down the hallway to his room to pack. Repeatedly, he told himself that he just wanted to see if her leg was better and how she was now.

The other shinigami exchanged confused glances, but Matsumoto grinned in anticipation, knowing fully well that this mission was full of opportunities to lightly tease Hitsugaya.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Oh yeah, I bet there are a lot of spelling and grammatical errors somewhere in there, let me know if you find any.

OOC-ness? Let me know. Confusing story? Let me know. Stupid parts that I put in? Let me know. Ideas? I'd love to hear. Flames? Love to hear those too!

And of course, praise is good. XD

Thanks for reading!!

--Lynn


	2. Ominous

e.e Hiya  
DX I'm so sorry, I've been so busy with school, life and ugghhhh...  
So... Short chapter...  
Sorry to anyone who reads this, I swear I'll update at least twice before March is over!!  
**Disclaimer: I don't own anything that is a part of Bleach.**

-.-.-.-.-.-

**Silver Snow**

_By Lynn, co-owner of BlackSunflower_

**Chapter Two:**

**_Ominous_**

Admittedly, his first thoughts after receiving the mission were really of the dark-haired Kurosaki. But seconds after the immediate thought, his mind shifted over to the realization that none of his underlings had noticed. And with that thought in mind, Hitsugaya tore down the long hallway, swerving at last minute to avoid collisions with puzzled fourth squad members. These poor shinigami tilted to and fro with arms laden with food, medical supplies, and whatnot until sheer dizziness knocked them over. Fortunately, the carried items didn't spill, but unfortunately, they were ignored by the small captain.

While these woozy fourth squad members tried to lift themselves from the swirling madness in their heads, Hitsugaya was screeching to a halt and diving into his quarters. He immediately grabbed the box from which he had earlier pulled out the photograph. Coincidentally, the papers he was looking for had been buried directly underneath the picture. He dug his fingers a few inches between corrugated cardboard and piles of papers and pulled out the whole report. He fell backwards onto the couch, momentum causing the boxes that had been previously set on both sides of him to leap off the end of the sofa and fall in an arc while cheerfully upending themselves. The mess remained ignored by the light-haired shinigami as he paged vigorously through the thick report.

The room held a tense silence, save for the frantic paper shuffles, until Hitsugaya turned to the needed page. He bit his tongue between his teeth as he scanned through the paper. It was full with worthless knowledge, but it was enough to prove his doubts.

Three years ago was when he had last been on the living world. Three years ago was when the Arrancar had last been such a dangerous threat. Three years ago was when the shinigami along with Kurosaki and his gang had teamed up to fight the mutated Hollows. Three years ago was when the Hougyokousakg had been retrieved. Three years ago was when Aizen Sousuke had been slain, his followers captured.

Three years ago was when all the Arrancar had been completely wiped out.

And yet, here was a mission to investigate the reappearance of those supposedly dead enemies.

Hitsugaya let out a sigh. This didn't surprise him as much as he had expected, which was starting to bother him some.

After all, expecting the impossible, especially something as large-scale as this, leaned a little on the mentally unstable side of life.

This job must be really getting to him.

-.-.-.-.-.-

Good? Bad? Hideous? Grotesque[[XD OMG, Simon called Danny Noriega grotesque!! That was so meaaannn... BTW, Danny is love X3

Reviews are loved, flames are remembered for future improvement, and reading is totally appreciated.

Thanks for getting this far at all!! XD

--Lynn


	3. Nightmares

Ugghhh, dang, I am so, so tired, it's unbelievable, I haven't felt this exhausted in a long time. Mistakes shall be plentiful, please inform me of them. I will fix up some of the mistakes in the other chapters soon too.

But! I honestly really wanted to get a go on this fanfic, ti's been calling my name for the past... six months? Whatever, and I hadn't even realized how many reviews it had gotten and such.

I'm so, so sorry for taking so long, I hope you guys like this chapter! And I'll try to update more with longer chapters, I'm just mad that my mom filled up my summer schedule, ughh.

Enjoy!!

-.-.-.-

**Silver Snow**

_By Lynn, co-owner of BlackSunflower_

**Chapter Three: **

**_Nightmares_**

-.-.-.-

Hitsugaya was angrily pacing in his office when a timid knock came from his door

Hitsugaya was angrily pacing in his office when a timid knock came from his door. Startled from his own worried thoughts, he stalked to his door, paused to compose himself a bit, and then opened it. A small, graceful black butterfly hovered evenly, carrying a small, rolled-up slip of paper. It floated slowly to the captain and dropped it into his open palm and then flew away. Heart thumping noisily in his ears, he unfurled it and read its contents:

_"Hitsugaya-taichou,  
We apologize for the slight confusion at the briefing. The Arrancar we described are not actual Arrancar, simply along the same strength scale and size. This doesn't necessarily mean they aren't, but we believe that they probably aren't seeing that the intelligence scans were far from those of an average Arrancar. Hopefully you can rest well from this update!  
--Hanatarou, reporting for the Commander-General-"_

The paper fluttered out from his hands lazily as Hitsugaya gave a soft sigh of relief. Probably in Soul Society meant 99 percent sure, so this was a bit soothing to hear, even if he had spent the past three hours shuffling up and down in deep thought. He suddenly yawned, finally aware of the exhaustion that he had been too nervous to notice. He stretched, throwing his arms upward, which wasn't all that smart since he ended up punching his ceiling. Rubbing his scratched knuckles, he glared at his low ceiling, which had been built when he was of a short stature. Shrugging to himself, he fell backwards onto his couch. Luckily, it happened to be just big enough to fit all of him onto it, and sleepily decided to fix his ceiling when he returned from this short mission. Gradually, the constant vigilance relaxed a small bit and his mind fled to the land of sleep and rest. However, past memories lingered as dreams took over.

_He felt cramped, trapped at the end of the Minotaur's maze, were the walls and ceilings closing in? It felt unnaturally tight, crammed, like he was cornered. Maybe because he was stuck, he realized as something large and lumbering closed in on him, like the first time he had run into a Hollow as an untrained beginner. Pure instinct told him to grip onto Hyourinmaru, but in place of the sword was his broken wrist. He desperately searched for the lost weapon, but the shadowy figure blocked his view. Then the form twisted and shrunk before his eyes until a familiar face appeared. "Thanks for the good game, Toushiro," Karin grinned and reached towards him, but something wasn't right, it didn't feel right. Then he noticed it, the body didn't fit the face, and when he looked back up, her carefree grin and smiling eyes had begun melting in a deformed way, until her dark eyes dripped into symmetrical lines running down her cheeks in deep green, just like the colors of her changing pupils, until her lips turned into a frown that was colorlessly white along with the rest of her face. A skull-esque helmet sprouted out of her forhead and covered part of her head. But it wasn't Karin anymore, was it?_

_"Karin?" he asked uncertainly as she came closer._

_"Karin?" she echoed tonelessly as she drew nearer. But it wasn't Karin anymore, it wasn't even a she. Hitsugaya immediately recognized him as Ulquiorra, but wasn't he dead?_

_"You're going to die, shinigami, and that's all you can think of to say?"_

_He snapped back into the present, or was it the past? Perhaps it was the future too. Ulquiorra was walking so slowly, as though he didn't care if he lived or not, not that that meant he really was walking, it seemed more like he was floating. Still, he drew nearer and nearer, so close that a faint rattling from the hole in his neck. Without a second thought, Hitsugaya plunged his hand into the opening, digging his fingers deep into the dark flesh surrounding it, just as the Arrancar was summoning a Cero. A rushed, but mistake-free, chant flew from his mouth, finishing only seconds before his opponent's attack. The effect was instantaneous with Ulquiorra blown to smithereens. Breath heaving in his chest, he ran forward into the falling debris of small body parts as it peppered the ground. Passing Hyourinmaru, he scooped up his beloved sword without slowing and raced to the exit. The doorknob was gleaming inches from his hand and he was getting closer and closer. The metal was a millicentimeter from his outstretched fingers and-_

_Whomp._

_A severed head landed on his arm. Ulquiorra's sad eyes looked imploringly at the young captain, as though the once practically undefeatable Arrancar were begging his attention. The eyes were distorting, mixing together, then coming back to its usual expression. "What do you want?" Hitsugaya hissed, shaking off the head and reaching for the door again. It was locked._

_"I'd try turning it the other way." the head suggested. Without a second thought, he immediately tried and the door clicked open._

_"Why..?" he began, giving one last glance at the head, which was beginning to bleed profusely._

_A look of faint amusement crossed his face. "I do hope we have a rematch. We'll be back, you know, and this time, no one will be spared, not you, not your fukutaichou, not anyone in Soul Society, not the little idiot Hinamori who still loves Aizen, not that fool pretending to be a shinigami along with you and his little friends. Not even Kurosaki Karin." he added with an edge of a threat. Then his livid green eyes rolled back into his head as he disintegrated into a red puddle, crimson with the brilliant lights cast upon it._

_Even when the world faded to nothing but pure black, Hitsugaya never stopped running._

"Taichou!" Rangiku's voice shouted, and his world was undergoing an earthquake.

He snapped to full attention, jumping off his makeshift bed. "What?"

"Ohh, thank goodness you're alright," she said, falling backwards onto the couch. "You were scaring me so badly..."

"What are you talking about?" he demanded, though his voice was oddly shaky. The words kept replaying again and again in his mind, "We'll be back, you know..." How could he have forgotten that threat in the Arrancar's last words? Then he noticed Matsumoto's concerned eyes watching him. "Well?" he asked.

"You were sweating so much, twisting and turning, and you looked like you were in pain, what were you dreaming of?" she said, looking very much the part of a worried mother.

"Nothing to concern yourself with," he answered swiftly, quickly regaining his composure. "It's nothing, just a stupid nightmare. Why aren't you in bed?"

"Well, um, I was... umm..." her eyes darted around, now acting just like a teenager caught sneaking back in.

"Well?" he repeated.

She smiled sheepishly at the paper-covered table and said, "I was going to take some papers and kinda work on them."

"...You mean the ones that you were going to do a week ago. Stop lying, you were trying to get some money for sake, right?" he bluntly said.

His fukutaichou laughed at his serious expression, and he felt himself relaxing in her carefree presence. But the odd dream and ironic letter bothered him inside and briefly he wondered if the coinciding items really were coincidence. Perhaps there were others feeling the same? But no, that couldn't be, and he immediately banished the thought while trying to force Matsumoto to her room with absolutely no side trips and no alcoholic beverages.

He didn't realize how right his half-awake musings were.

-.-.-.-

His fellow captain one door down lay unable to sleep after a similar nightmare. "Ne, Ken-chan?" Yachiru prodded his head. "You okay?"

"I'm fine," he answered absentmindedly as he stared intensely at the ceiling. Normally, his sleep was simple: just black and no dreams whatsoever. Dreams were scattered around in a few and far between sort of way. Things that could be described as nightmares were even more scarce, and yet he had had one this very night. Too small eyes and a too large mouth filled his mind's eye, and a demonically insane smile split the face in half. The blood-splattered fan behind the thin head seemed to only accentuate the mental expression. It was amazing that the words had even come out through those closed teeth.

_"You shit, I'll be fucking back."_

Kenpachi shuddered slightly, puzzling Yachiru further, and pushed the dream away. No, this meant nothing. Nobody else would be having anything the slightest bit similar to what he was thinking. He was wrong.

-.-.-.-

A few floors down, Mayuri gazed blankly at a specimen. The eyes, they poked at a memory from three years ago. He pursed his lips in concentration and then the recollection flew back unhindered in all its disturbing detail. Those eyes were like Szayel's in his last moments. Of course it wasn't the shocked look that stayed on his face as the sword passed through his hand and into his chest. The split second before the Arrancar died, his expression slipped away, as though the horrified shock were an unsteady mask. It changed to a triumphant smirk, a wink in his eye. Then it flashed back to the face that he had worn earlier and that was the face that he died wearing.

But now, for the first time, the mad scientist wondered. Was it an act?

-.-.-.-

The shinigami in the Soul Society weren't the only people pondering and puzzling. Kurosaki Ichigo, at the age of eighteen, lay in bed at his college dorm in America. One final final tomorrow morning and then he'd be rushing back to Japan, to his hometown, Karakura Town. The hurried phone call from Ishida had been more than worrying though.

"Kurosaki, Kisuke said that something is definitely up with the spirit power in town, it's definitely not just regular Hollow. And if you ask me, it's resembles that of an Arrancar's more than it should."

"Hey, stop being so dramatic, I thought you called to tell me how Karin's game went."

"Kurosaki, this is serious. I have to go now, we'll tell you more when you return. Bye." Then the phone had clicked off and the tone blared endlessly in his ear.

Something was terribly amiss, so awful that Ichigo was unable to sleep. Arrancars again? And yet, when he thought the word Arrancar, his mind conjured up soulless killers with nothing but hatred. He couldn't describe Grimmjow like that. He had had a sort of pride to him, not just hate, not just the drive to destroy life. When he was dying before Ichigo, after Kenpachi had slain Nnoitora, the feline-like Arrancar had spoke to him, quietly, but the injured pride loud in his voice anyway. _"Why didn't you just kill me? Was it your damn sympathy? Or did you think it was kindness. No, shinigami, that was dumb, no, that was idiotic, do you hear me?! Ya wanna know why? Now I owe you, I owe a damn shinigami, and I'm dying. Shit... Well, see ya round then."_

'See ya round,' what an odd way to say goodbye. Didn't that mean that his soul would be fixed, changed, altered until it was pure again though? Perhaps he meant that Ichigo would be dying so soon too that they'd see each other again. And yet... His mind recalled another Arrancar that never, ever fit his mind's image of an Arrancar. Neliel Tu, kind, caring, and overall, not too different from the people he knew. The words she had said were strange too.

As if requesting to be killed was normal. His mind suddenly slipped back three years yet again.

_"Do me a favor, okay?" she had asked, slowly surveying the mass of dead Arrancar._

_"Sure, you helped us out a lot," Ichigo immediately had agreed._

_She had laughed a little. "I didn't think you'd accept so quickly, but that works fine for me." She gave him a cheery smile, the sort that she usually made in her child form. "Kill me, will ya?"_

_He had dropped Zangetsu with a loud clatter. "What are you talking about?"_

_"You know it won't work out, me being the last one. I'll go mental and do who knows what. And don't you even try and deny it, you know it too. I can tell." Nel had lamented. "Get on with it now, will you?"_

_His downcast and frustrated look had softened her words. "Hey, don't look upset. Itsygo," she had said, adopting the childish name that she had used before. "I'll be back, just watch."_

_He had been unable look up at her and he stabbed his zanpakuto through his comrade._

And now he hadn't thought about those two lives until now. 'See ya round,' 'I'll be back'... The words swirled in his mind, in never ending circles.

And all at once, the four minds questioned the same thought. Did any of this mean anything?

-.-.-.-

Woww, I reread it now (XD about two minutes after I just wrote it) and I think it sounds rushed. What do you think? And, I'm really sorry about the gross-ish moments and the repetitive-ness, I wanted to get in more... character deaths (XD How morbid does that sound?!).

As always, I'd love comments and suggestions, but it's not required. Thanks for reading!!

I'm off to bed now, yeyyy!! And this is weird since I normally don't get this tired at 1AM.

XD And thank you for reading (again).

--Helenn (Pchyaaa, I'm using my normal name now, instead of my nickname. Someone remind me to change it on my profile ;D)


	4. Uncertain

:O Lookie, I'm back **again**! Don't deny it, it's shocking, isn't it?

As I told lilmissmex3, this is kind of a filler chapter, but it's only filler with the conversation areas and other stuff that didn't really need to be put in. I just wanted to extend the chapter a bit while I'm planning the next part.

Some of the things I threw into this chapter interfere with what I had originally planned and I'm having a hard time debating whether or not I want to get rid of what I used to have and toss in the new.

Anyhow, I hope you enjoy this chapter!!

-.-.-.-

**Silver Snow**

_By Lynn, co-owner of BlackSunflower_

**Chapter Four: **

**_Uncertain_**

-.-.-.-

"Hey, Ichi-nii, you can stop pretending now. I know you can't sleep with your lamp on and our stomach's louder than the insane neighbors' music." Karin stated, rubbing her eyes. "It's so freakin' loud that it woke me up, so you better get up and eat something."

"Fine, fine, I'm up," he sighed grumpily. As soon as he sat up, he hurled a pillow at his unsuspecting sister, expecting her to be caught off-guard.

Instead, his little sister caught the fluffy projectile with ease and tackled him with it in the blink of an eye. "Dammit, can't I go one hour without getting attacked in this house?" Ichigo muttered as the fourteen-year-old girl battered him repeatedly, mussing his already messy hair further.

Karin stopped, her eyes glittering and said, "I wonder the same, Ichi-nii. Without you at home, Dad's trying to catch me off guard now."

For the first time since Ishida's phone call, Ichigo laughed. "You're so fast now, when did that happen? What sports are you doing now, track, soccer, softball, and basketball? Ishida never told me how fast you were though."

His sister couldn't resist the compliments and broke into a wide grin too. "Yeah, Ishida-san doesn't really like going to the games that much; he's really busy with all the work at the business he's working in with his dad. Didn't he call you last night? He was borrowing our phone last night, and I heard him saying that you'd be back soon." She paused, a thoughtful look on her face. "Hey, why _are_ you back so soon? I mean, you had that last test this morning, and now you're here. And it's only four in the morning. Why didn't you wait a little longer? I mean," she said hurriedly, seeing his raised eyebrow, "it's not like I, we, don't want you here, it's just you don't usually rush back here as soon as you can. If I remember right, you walked home from school as slow as you could. We all thought you'd be back for the summer of course, but not _this_ soon and all."

"Just missed you guys," Ichigo shrugged and got off his bed. "Did you guys already have dinner?"

"It's _four_," Karin reminded him. "What do you think?"

"Whatever, I'm going to get something," he said and trudged towards the kitchen. Karin trailed behind, awaiting his answer to her question from before. However, every time she tried to return to the topic of his early return, he'd change the subject. Eventually, there was no possibility of a conversation at all with Ichigo shoveling food down his throat at an impressive speed. Karin sat across the table, glaring at him with her classical bored face in hopes of earning his attention with her constant stare. Unfortunately, he was so absorbed in eating that he failed to notice. It was not until he was at he bottom of the bowl that he felt her eyes watching his every movement. Pleased that he finally would listen, she smiled slightly and said, "So, about earlier. Why _are_ you-?"

Someone was knocking on the door. "Who could that be?" Karin wondered aloud with a note of exasperation in her tone. She rose from her chair, but before she could take another step, Ichigo had flown out of his chair and answered the door. He left it open a small slit, just large enough to show his face through the crack, and spoke in a hushed whisper. The mysterious visitor was blocked from her view by Ichigo's tall frame, and the muffled voices made it even more difficult to discern the visitor. Who on earth could it be at this early hour? Karin questioned as she craned her neck in an attempt to glimpse the stranger.

"Hey, Karin, I'm going to be out for a while, I'll be back soon, alright?" Ichigo suddenly said, catching her in her secret effort. "See ya, sis." he said and slipped out of the house. He let the door clunk shut on its own before allowing Karin a chance to say anything.

She stared angrily the closed door, then glared disgustedly at his partially eaten food. Quietly, she minimally clanked the dishes as she cleaned up her brother's night snack. Halfway through, she realized he hadn't told her _not_ to follow him. Her tidying-up was completed very quickly after that, so fast that it wasn't quite tidy at all, and hurried out of the house after Ichigo.

Once out of the house, she was aware of two things. The first was the early morning chilliness from the fresh rain, despite it being early summer, and the dew that accompanied it. Fortunately, tracking her brother wouldn't be so difficult since he had run through grass, creating a long line of smashed vegetation and drippy water. The other thing was a bit more disturbing.

The second Karin had stepped out of the safety of her home, she had felt an incredible feeling of foreboding, as though something in the air was warning her about another presence. She wasn't the only one outside. There was something heavy and thicker, and she could recognize it as Ichigo. Another spirit was with him, and it felt familiar, although she couldn't exactly say who, or what, it was. Further away, there was a buzz of the same feeling, though it was noticeably dimmer, which Karin took to mean that it was further away. But there was a third one. It was intensely heavy, so strong that it was difficult to maintain balance. How could she have not felt it before? And why was it so familiar? With a sharp stab of recollection, the girl recognized it. It was one of those things that she and Toushiro had run into, but three thousand times stronger. Oh, what had he called it? A Hollow?

A loud, unearthly groan shook the ground beneath her. The impact of the noise combined with the odd pressure threatened to topple her over, but she managed to stay upright for enough time to run, run like hell, from that Hollow-like presence.

"Running already?" a soft voice whispered like snakes outstretched towards the fleeing girl, but remained unheard, as though she had narrowly missed a fatal bite from a rattlesnake. "Ah, but it has yet to begun, Kurosaki Karin." A cold smile curved the speaker's lips, but the smile never reached his cold, green eyes.

"This time, no one will be spared."

-.-.-.-

Dun, dun, dun, dunnnnnn!! OK, now, I need someone to tell me how absolutely lame the ending was. I was trying to go for scary and haunting and ominous and such, but it kind of came out as... cliched-ness.

Oh, and I was wondering, who likes IchiRuki? Who likes Ichihime with/without RenjixRukia? Message me or review to send in your vote, it's a side pairing and I do so love all those, so it's hard for me to pick.

Thanks for reading!!

--Helenn


End file.
